Durban

About Durban

Warm Indian Ocean surf, a skyline of beachfront towers and the largest Indian community outside Asia give Durban a flavour unlike any other South African city. It grew from a small trading post founded in 1824 into the country's busiest port, and sugar-cane workers brought from India in the nineteenth century shaped its markets, temples, mosques and above all its food, from fiery curries to the bunny chow.

Life here is lived outdoors. The Golden Mile promenade links surf beaches and piers with uShaka Marine World, while the soaring arch of Moses Mabhida Stadium watches over the shore. Inland, the Edwardian City Hall, the busy Victoria Street Market and the Juma Masjid sit within a few blocks of each other, and the museum at KwaMuhle tells the harder story of apartheid-era Durban.

The city also makes an easy base for the wider province: the rolling Valley of a Thousand Hills lies inland, the Drakensberg is a few hours' drive away, and game reserves of northern KwaZulu-Natal are within reach for a safari.